I stayed at the JW Marriott in Tucson Mar 26 - Apr1.
In my opinion, it is not yet ready for prime time.

Unlike other reports, I don't fell that this hotel is much different than a plain old Marriott. Yes, the rooms are slightly larger, and the bathroom is nicer. But I really don't spend all that much time in the bathroom during my stays ( I hope .

Starting off with arrival, there are no signs directing you to the resort. It is in the Starr Pass development, but if you don't take the Starr Pass exit off I-10, it is hard to find.

Next, the parking. As already reported, there is a mandatory $15 per night valet parking fee. There is no self parking. But I must add that the valet service was excellent during my stay and I rarely had to wait for the car to be brought up.

Next, the grounds are still being landscaped, so it is pretty barren.

The pools are also pretty barren. There is no lazy river or water slide. Just the pools (one single adult pool and two adjoined family pools). There is also a water spout fountain which the kids love.

As for restaurants, the hotel info describes having 7 dining options. Not quite. One option is the Starbucks, not what I consider a dining option. One option is the restaurant not open yet. And two options are at the golf course clubhouse, not on the hotel grounds. The Poolside facility, Plunge, is decent. The usual selection of burgers dogs and chicken. It does have a bar and Flat panel TV. The main restaurant, Signature, had a nice buffet breakfast. We ate there twice. On the first day, the food was great. On the next day, it was fair. We didn't eat dinner there because the restaurant doesn't serve until 5:30 pm. With our bodies on east coast time, that was too late for us.

We stayed in a room on the 4th floor. For some reason, there was no room number sign on our room. We had a lot of trouble finguring out that was our room, and finally just tried the key. I reported it to the desk on our first day, and was surprised that by the time we checked out no sign had been put up.

Our biggest disappointment was the lack of kids activitied. The hotel made a point of describing the "Rising Starr" kids club, featuring activities focusing on the Sonoran desert. When we were there, the club was not operating. Unfortunately, it was open the week before we arrived. There was star gazing at night, hikes in the desert, arts and crafts. When we checked in we were given a brochure listing all these activities. We made the mistake of telling the kids, then found out that the program was ending on Easter Day and there would be nothing for the kids after that. To Marriott's credit, on Easter Day the Easter Bunny arrived on horse back to the resort, and they held an Easter Egg hunt which everyone enjoyed.

The hotel staff was very pleasant.

Overall, this hotel has potential, but whether to stay there or not depends on why you are going. If you need a place to stay in Tucson for business, it's okay. If you are looking for a vacation with the family, don't go.

After we left Tucson, we went to the JW Marriott in Phoenix (Dessert Ridge). What a difference. This is the hotel to stay at in Arizona.